


Tyler Seguin: Cat Dad

by illumify



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Accidental Cat Acquisition, Domestic Fluff, Jamie is a supportive friend who never mocks him for it, M/M, Pre-Relationship, The cat is a metaphor, Tyler is a disaster as per usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-10-10 20:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20534339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illumify/pseuds/illumify
Summary: Tyler had no idea how it happened.He was a dog dad, period, end of sentence. It was ingrained in his personality. His hat trick of labs was almost as famous as him even if they were deprived of a place in the vote for best dogs in the league last season.He’d gone on record in multiple interviews saying he didn’t even like cats.And yet.





	Tyler Seguin: Cat Dad

Tyler had no idea how it happened. 

He was a dog dad, period, end of sentence. It was ingrained in his personality. His hat trick of labs was almost as famous as him even if they were deprived of a place in the vote for best dogs in the league last season.

He’d gone on record in multiple interviews saying he didn’t even like cats.

And yet.

“Uh, Tyler?” Jamie asked on the other end of the phone.

“Yeah?”

“Did Gerry learn a new trick or did I just hear a meow?”

Tyler stood up from where he’d been sprawled on the floor battling against a ball of fluff that was trying to smother him and took his phone off speaker.

“Ha, um, yeah no, not Gerry. Actually, that’s kind of why I called. You’ve had cats before, right?” Tyler paced back and forth in his living room, narrowly avoiding tripping over his new house guest at every step as it twined between his legs.

“Yeah? What’s going on Tyler?”

“So, I think I accidentally got a cat.”

***

He’d noticed it a few times over the last couple of weeks. Every summer when he came back to Dallas, he tried to get the pups into their routine as soon as possible. He hated that he couldn’t be around for them as often as he wanted during the season what with the travel schedule and practice up in Frisco and all. At the very least, he could take total control of dog dad duties while he still had the free time.

Morning walks were a good way to start the day; he could beat the worst of the oppressive Texas summer heat and warm up his muscles before tackling any workout or practice he had planned. 

Gerry had the energy of three dogs all on his own, pulling against his leash the whole time, wanting to explore every nook and cranny of the neighborhood as they meandered around each block. Thankfully, Cash and Marshall were way more chill and totally content to just follow along.

It was on one of Gerry’s tangents that Tyler first saw the cat.

They had wandered up someone’s driveway as far as he would let Gerry go when he felt eyes on the back of his neck. It wasn’t so early that it would be unusual for one of his neighbors to be out and about, but Tyler liked to think that playing hockey for so many years had given him at least some ability to tell when a person was in his general vicinity. 

This didn’t feel like a person.

Tyler slowly turned around and scanned the empty street. Finally, his gaze rested on a low stone retaining wall lining the driveway they were standing on. Atop the stones sat a fluffy gray cat with the greenest eyes Tyler had ever seen.

Once he made eye contact with the cat, Tyler was scared to blink and break the invisible line of connection between them. He didn’t even breathe.

Gerry tugged hard on his leash, and finally Tyler had to end the ridiculous staring contest to avoid being pulled over and face-planting into the concrete. Seriously, it was just a cat. Obviously cats didn’t have staring contests, and even if they did he would totally win if it was a fair playing field with no hyperactive puppies involved.

He walked back down the driveway and out into the street without looking back at the cat, encouraging his dogs to follow. He didn’t dare check to see if it was still watching until they reached the corner.

When he did, green eyes stared back. Unblinking.

***

Yesterday was when the shit really hit the fan. Or litter. Since apparently cats do that.

They rounded the corner for that same block and the cat was waiting at the end of the driveway. Every day it had seemingly inched farther down the wall, closer to the street. But surely Tyler had imagined that. 

This, though, was undeniable proof. The cat was fully in the middle of the drive, but as soon as they were even with it on the sidewalk, it stood up and started to walk with them. 

No matter how much Gerry wandered, crossing the street to one side then back-tracking to the other following some scent only he cared to investigate, the cat went, too. After an initial sniff in its direction, Marshall, Cash, and Gerry didn’t seem to be bothered by it at all. As long as they were okay, Tyler didn’t really think anything of it other than that it was weird. That is, until they got about three streets past their usual run-in spot.

“Hey, uh, you.” It felt wrong to talk to the strange cat in the same voice he used for his own dogs, so he just used his normal voice instead. Or maybe if he was being honest it was more like the voice he used when he talked to the media and needed to convince people he was confident and unfazed. No need to show fear to the enemy and all that.

The cat didn’t reply.

“Go on home. You don’t need to come with us. You might get lost. Just go home, okay?”

At that, the cat did let out a disdainful “mrow,” and trotted to the front of the pack. Tyler had kept them walking in a loose circle, so they were almost at the intersection that would take them back to the house where he found the cat. He thought surely it would walk on home once they got close enough for it to get its bearings and recognize some familiar scenery.

It didn’t.

Instead, it took a sharp right. Which, incidentally, was the way to Tyler’s house.

Whatever, if this cat wanted to walk with them all the way home, let it.

So it did.

In hindsight, that was mistake #1.

When Tyler opened the garage and hung up the boys’ leashes, it sat on the doormat staring up at him like it was waiting for something. 

The dogs were jumping on the door and barking to be let in for their post-walk treats, so Tyler turned the key in the lock and opened the door.

That was mistake #2.

The boys collided with each other as they shoved through the door, eager to get into the cool air-conditioned home, and before Tyler could slip in himself, the cat darted after them.

Well, shit.

It took a second for Tyler to realize what feat lay ahead of him—hunting down a cat in his own home and somehow managing to get it back outside where it clearly would rather not be—and by the time he had forced himself to move past the hallway into the kitchen, it was too late.

He stood at the end of the kitchen counter and stared at where Gerry lay: on his dog bed, curled around the cat. Two impossibly green eyes stared back.

***

After a disastrous attempt to pick up the cat led to a squirmy wrestling match on the floor and an ultimate victory by the cat who had claimed Tyler’s face as its new seat of preference, Tyler determined help was necessary.

“Jamie, I think there’s cat hair in my mouth.”

He heard a quiet snort on the other end of the line.

“Are you laughing at me? Rude! That’s not bros, bro.” The snort had definitely turned into a giggle, a noise Tyler didn’t think he’d ever get over hearing Jamie make. How could such a soft noise leave such a big body?

“I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing at your situation. There’s a difference,” Jamie said, still clearly struggling to keep his laughter under control. “How did you accidentally get a cat?”

“I don’t know, it just came home with us and decided it lives here now, I guess. Now it won’t leave me alone.”

Sure enough, as soon as Tyler sat down on the couch, the cat jumped into his lap. Its claws slightly dug into his thin athletic shorts he’d worn for the walk but didn’t quite pierce his skin. It stretched its neck up and gave a small, weirdly scratchy lick to his cheek. It then curled into a fluffy little ball on his lap, and he felt an odd rumbling in his legs.

“Dude, I think it’s growling at me!” Tyler tensed his legs, ready to leap up and dislodge the little home intruder at any second.

“Uh, are you sure it’s not just purring?” Jame asked, still laughing like the asshole he secretly was.

“Purring? What the fuck, that’s a thing?”

“Tyler, have you seriously never been around a cat before?”

“No! I don’t do cats, man.”

“Okay, well don’t panic. It’s totally normal. I promise,” Jamie said with sincerity. Apparently he’d finally clued in to the severity of the situation and how legit worried Tyler was that his legs had now been claimed by an actual monster. “It means its comfortable and trusts you.”

“Pfft, well that’s an error in judgment.”

“Okay, focus Tyler. Does it have a collar? Can you tell if it belongs to someone?”

Tyler gently poked around the long fur around its neck but could tell right away there was no collar there.

“Nope, but it always hangs out around the same house. I can ask them if it’s theirs.”

“Good, yeah, do that. If not, we can take it to a vet and see if it’s microchipped.”

“We?” Tyler hadn’t expected Jamie to volunteer to get involved. He had just needed someone to be a witness if this cat ended up murdering him in cold blood.

“Yeah, sure. Can’t have you be responsible for this poor cat’s life if you’re that freaked out by it. That would just be cruel, to you and the cat.”

“Okay, I feel like you’re laughing at me again, now.”

Jamie’s loud laughter on the phone confirmed his suspicions. Asshole.

***

Tyler did his due diligence in trying to find the cat’s owner. He’d looked up the email buried in his inbox with the homeowner’s association directory of numbers and addresses, sent a message to the owners of the house where the cat had been waiting as well as those of all of the houses on that block to ask if they were missing a cat. Nobody was, but a few had mentioned seeing a stray around the past couple months.

Which is how Tyler found himself sitting in the vet’s office he used for his boys with a dog-sized carrier holding a very cranky cat.

“Dude, I don’t think it liked that food you brought over,” Tyler whispered to Jamie. Jamie glanced up from the magazine he was flipping through in the seat next to him.

“Yeah, well, it’s all that the gas station had. It probably doesn’t like being cooped up in the carrier or all the weird animal smells in here. You sure you don’t want me to hold it? That might make it feel safer.”

Tyler absolutely did not want Jamie to hold it. When Jamie had arrived earlier in the afternoon with a box of canned cat food and a small bag of litter to make a temporary litter box, Tyler thought he was going to die for the second time that day watching Jamie gently pick up what he was now referring to in his head as Murder Cat and gently cradle it in his arms. The cat had lazily stretched where Jamie held it on its back, reaching up a single paw to bat at Jamie’s cheek. Tyler flinched, remembering the sharp claws that he had felt after it had jumped into his lap, but apparently the cat hadn’t exposed them to play with Jamie’s face.

He didn’t like it, but he could understand the impulse. It was a nice face. Very touchable. Even during Jamie’s questionable beard choice phases.

He was absolutely _ not _ jealous of a cat, thank you very much.

Thankfully they’d arrived at the vet’s during a slow period and didn’t have to wait long to get in for the scan. 

“I’ve got good news and bad news, depending on how you look at it,” the vet said after a thorough scan of the cat’s body, made difficult by the actually impressive amount of fur that surrounded it like a halo. As if murderous demon cats had halos. 

“What is it?” Tyler asked. He was surprised to realize that he wasn’t sure what he would consider bad news. 

“I can’t find any sign of a microchip, so it looks like you’ve found yourself a stray. Surprising actually, she’s pretty enough that if she’d been at a shelter she’d probably get picked up pretty fast.”

“She?” Jamie spoke up from beside Tyler. He’d been petting the cat throughout the whole process, scratching behind its—her—ears which had made it do that noise again. The purring. 

“Sure is. Hard to tell age exactly but she’s probably no more than a year or two. So, gentlemen, how do we want to proceed?”

Tyler looked up from where he’d been staring at Jamie’s fingers working through the soft fur and frowned. 

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we can go ahead and go through all the usual: vaccines, microchipping, schedule a spaying appointment?” Tyler tilted his head, trying to make the vet’s words make sense. “Oh, I’m sorry, I just assumed you’d be keeping her. Is that not the case?”

He shouldn’t be surprised, Tyler thought. That would be a safe assumption to make if someone brought in a stray to see if it had an owner already. But did he want to keep it? That was easy. Tyler didn’t do cats. 

Murder Cat suddenly stood up from her crouched position and dodged Jamie’s hand. Tyler braced himself as he suddenly found his shoulder had been claimed as a perch by ten pounds of gray fluff and pointy claws. 

“No yeah, that’s right. Let’s do it. What you said.” 

Tyler didn’t even realize the words had left his mouth until he saw the look on Jamie’s face: genuine shock with not a small amount of pleased satisfaction. Or approval. Something Tyler didn’t want to examine too closely and thankfully had the excuse of looking away from thanks to a ridiculously fluffy tail that had wound its way around his neck. 

“Looks like you’ve got a cuddler,” Jamie murmured as the vet turned around to type something into his computer. Tyler glanced up and found the expression was still there on Jamie’s face. He quickly had to look away. 

“She’ll fit right in, I guess.”

“I guess she will. Part of the family already.”

The look wouldn’t go away, practically glowing on Jamie’s stupid handsome face. 

Fuck. 

***

Tyler was able to gather his wits about him a little better back at home, but not by much.

“Dude.”

“What?” Jamie was on the living room floor, wrestling with Gerry, while Tyler sat on the couch. Although, if you asked him, it was more like being held captive.

“What the fuck is she doing?” Tyler was doing his very best to sit still and not make any sudden movements. Murder Cat was studiously digging her claws into his stomach in a steady rhythm. Jamie glanced up from his position under Gerry. 

“Oh, she’s just making biscuits, no big deal.”

_ Biscuits? _

“Dude, that does not answer my question.” Tyler felt like he’d been speaking a totally different language all day ever since this cat had come into his life. Nothing anyone said to him about cat business made any sense.

“Yeah, like she’s kneading you. It means she trusts you. Feels comfortable here. It’s a good thing.” Gerry had given up on wrestling and had assumed his regular cuddle position which was basically just flopping his entire weight on top of his person of choice. Jamie didn’t look bothered by it. Almost like he was used to it. Which shouldn’t make Tyler’s heart clench to think about since he was over at Tyler’s nearly every day now they were back in the same zip code.

“Okay, sure. Biscuits.” Tyler stared down at Murder Cat. She stared back and made a final dig into his skin with her claws before turning in a circle and curling up in his lap. 

“I guess she’s kind of cute,” he said as she slowly blinked her startlingly green eyes, settling in for a nap. 

“Ha, yeah, kind of. What are you going to call her?”

“You mean I can’t keep calling her Murder Cat?”

“You’ve been calling her Murder Cat?!” Jamie’s jaw dropped. “That’s so rude. She didn’t even murder anything, yet!”

“Well! It was creepy at first! She keeps staring at me, it gave me murder vibes before.”

“Sure, and what kind of vibes do you get now?” Jamie raised an eyebrow at Tyler and pointedly looked down at the purring machine settled on top of him. “Real killer right there.”

Tyler looked at the cat for a moment then back up at Jamie. His face was all soft edges and warm brown eyes with a small smile lifting one corner of his mouth. Tyler felt his stomach flip and his fingers twitch like they needed something to hold. Good thing there was a cat in his lap that responded well to gentle rubs under her chin.

“She’s kinda sweet. Not such a murderous demon cat after all.”

“Good, but she still needs a name.”

“What about Kat?”

“You’re going to name your cat Cat?” Jamie snorted. “Okay, Audrey Hepburn.”

“With a K! And I don’t get that reference. Who’s Audrey?”

“I’m not explaining who Audrey Hepburn is to you, but I call dibs next movie night. And I’m sure the K will be totally obvious to anyone who never sees her name written down.” Jamie rolled his eyes.

“I’ll know it’s there and that’s what matters.” Tyler was dead set on it now. He wouldn’t ever tell Jamie that he’d been thinking about it since they got home or that “Kat” actually stood for “Her Royal Highness Katriona the Duchess of Fluffington.” And he definitely wouldn’t tell Jamie that he’d already checked Instagram to be sure the handle @hrhkationafluffington was still available. Nope, never did such a thing, wouldn’t dream of it. Not a cat person.

She was just there by accident.

***

So maybe Kat was a good cuddler after all, and maybe Tyler fell asleep with her snuggled up in his lap. He’d shifted positions on the couch sometime in the last hour or so they’d been asleep and wound up on his side. She had followed, tucking her head under his chin and pressing her back along his chest. 

He woke up with a noseful of fur and the sounds of Jamie’s voice drifting in from the kitchen.

Tyler lay there listening, unable to pick up distinct words but soothed by Jamie’s gentle and constant tone all the same. He felt Kat start to purr again, the vibrations sinking into his chest, and thought, “Yeah, me too.”

Jamie walked back into the living room and stopped at the end of the couch to take in their new positioning.

“I went ahead and ordered some food. Thought you’d be hungry when you woke up.”

“You know I’m always good for food. What’d you get?”

“Tacos.”

“Oh man, I love you. Queso, too?”

Jamie smiled and nodded. “Yeah, obviously.”

Tyler started to get up but received a soft, warning “mrow” as soon as he moved his arm.

“Uh, I don’t think I can get up.”

“That’s okay, it won’t be here for a while. Just stay there.” Jamie walked around the corner of the couch and sat on the other end. He picked up Tyler’s feet and rested them in his lap, scooting closer to the middle and within reach. He stretched the rest of the distance to run a large and gentle hand along Kat’s torso. His forearm rested along Tyler’s hip.

Tyler couldn’t think of anything but the feeling of Jamie’s body heat sinking into his skin at every point of contact.

“You know,” Jamie said, “before today I don’t think I ever would have thought I’d see you with a cat. But looking at you both right now, I think it fits. Somehow, you still manage to surprise me, Tyler.” His fingers were stroking the small strip of fur between Kat’s ears and he wasn’t making eye contact with Tyler.

Tyler’s mouth was dry and his brain still kicking into gear from his unintentional nap. He searched his groggy brain for something to say that wouldn’t be totally embarrassing.

“I think–” he began. “I think there’s still things about me left to learn. I think I surprised myself with this whole cat thing, too. Probably not the last time, either.”

With one last pet, Jamie pulled his arm back and rearranged himself behind Tyler with his head resting on Tyler’s hip.

“I hope so.”

They both dozed until their food arrived.

***

After dinner, Kat transformed into a tangle of frenzied energy. She tore around the house chasing after and being chased by Gerry in turn while Cash and Marshall sat out. Refereeing or something.

Tyler and Jamie sat on the couch, too full after too many tacos, chips, and queso to do anything but watch Tyler’s hyped-up children run laps around them.

“Thanks for being here today, Jamie. You didn’t have to stick around, but I appreciate it.” Tyler felt oddly exhausted after a day that hadn’t required much activity but felt draining all the same.

“No problem. What are friends for?” Jamie knocked his shoulder against Tyler’s with a smile but didn’t immediately pull back into his own space. The contact lingered.

“I don’t know, I feel like you’re better suited for the cat dad life than I am,” Tyler said with a strained laugh.

Kat leaped up onto the couch and sprinted across their legs before jumping down again, causing them both to lean back suddenly in surprise. After she’d disappeared as quickly as she’d arrived, Gerry in hot pursuit, they settled again and relaxed their tense muscles. They were still sitting close.

“I think you’ve done great today. She seems totally happy here and adjusted. You’ve made a great home for her and she’s obviously feeling loved and welcomed judging by how quickly she’s settling in.” Jamie smiled up at Tyler, a hint of pride and something else in his gaze.

Tyler felt his cheeks heat. Hearing compliments from Jamie was a complicated business. Something in him grew ten times bigger with every word of encouragement or approval but it only made him want to hear even more. It was addicting. Jamie was addicting.

He chanced a look down at Jamie’s lips, something he usually avoided doing out of habit.

That was mistake #3.

Once he allowed himself the indulgence of looking, he couldn’t tear his eyes away. He was locked in an unending stare and with growing concern felt something like a gravitational pull drawing him in closer and closer to Jamie. His heart pounded in his chest and his breath caught in his lungs.

Tyler startled when he felt something firm but gentle cradle the side of his face.

Jamie’s hand.

“Tyler?” Jamie’s voice was barely a whisper. Tyler finally ripped his eyes away from the subtle pink of his lips and got lost again in his soft brown eyes. Those eyelashes were fucking criminal they were so long.

He didn’t reply, just gave in to the pull and leaned in. He couldn’t tell if it was gravity or Jamie himself who turned the last shred of space between them into nothing.

Jamie’s lips, his hands—now both framing Tyler’s face—the warmth of his breath, the brush of his eyelashes, and the rasp of his beard: it was overwhelming. Tyler felt enveloped in everything Jamie, a place he suddenly knew he’d been struggling to find since the day they met. 

In Jamie’s hands, he was something precious to be loved and cared for. Something in need of a space made ready and welcome just for him. Something in need of a home.

Jamie was all the home he needed.

The sound of Gerry barking and Kat yowling as they reached a stand-off around the ottoman broke them out of the kiss.

Tyler ducked his head and awkwardly laughed. Jamie didn’t drop his hands.

“Tyler?”

“Told you I still had some surprises left.” Even though he felt sure there was no way Jamie could have experienced anything less than the rush of feeling that had just flooded through him, Tyler felt nervous when he looked back up at Jamie.

“Yeah,” Jamie replied, the same smile that had been taking over his face all day breaking through yet again. “You certainly did.”

When Jamie leaned in to kiss Tyler a second time, all thought left his mind. He rode the waves of emotion and sensation until he lost all sense of how long they’d been pressed together.

After a dozen or so such kisses, though, the fleeting thought entered his mind that his life looked incredibly different from just twelve hours ago. Not only had his family grown in unexpected ways, but his entire frame of reference for who he was had shifted.

And knowing that kissing Jamie was on the table was a major bonus, too, of course.

Tyler smiled as he ran his hand through Jamie’s hair and lightly nipped his bottom lip. 

Sometimes change could be a very good thing.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, then! This is my first ever fic but I suddenly got hit by the idea of Tyler, known dog dad, somehow having a cat forced upon him by the vagaries of fate and had to get it out of my head and into the world. So here we are!
> 
> I love both of these dummies quite a lot and would like them to receive all the cuddles possible, so this is me doing my part to give their fictionalized versions a little extra, I suppose.


End file.
